December 2016

This year we're staying in Muscat for Christmas so we're making the most of it. A lot of our friends have left town to spend Christmas with their respective families so it's a bit quiet around here. School broke out last week so it was a little hectic as there were Christmas parties, fairs and kids programme's in school to attend and to remember things the kids had to take. There were also local charities to give to through the school so my mummy brain was busy trying to make sure everything was handed in on time and the right thing was given to where! Am sure everyone was apprehensive when the final day of school finally arrived.
Some sleep ins here and there and no school lunches for three weeks yay. Christmas fun has started at home. We've put up our tree and we've decorated here and there. We're hosting Christmas lunch this year inviting a few of our friends who are also staying back. So far we've had an outing on the beach yesterday with a few families and the kids had loads of fun. The big kids had fun with water guns running in and out of the waves and climbing trees and the little ones enjoyed sand play for hours. Came home with two tired boys and the little one went straight for a nap.
Preparing for our Christmas lunch is exciting. Trying to buy the right stuff for the food we're having so there's no stress. I did my Christmas shopping awhile ago so all good on that front.
Missing the family back home as we'd had Christmas with them the past 3 years. However it's also a relief to not be travelling during the busy season.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy NEW YEAR and prayers for those who are in need and in strife. We're never too far from the grips of despair. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Samaga Pe'a

Image
The time came when the completion of the tattooing sessions were near. We went to Samoa for three and a half weeks and we were hoping that it would be done well before then but by the third week we were not so sure we'd be done well before or in time. You see in Samoa there are a lot of unforseeable circumstances that arise. One of those was the tattooist's family from ovearseas showed up for family meetings and all. So there had to be days off while the tufuga dealt with his family duties. On top of that Mother's day followed and then the final week was full on tattooing everyday until it was completed on Saturday. On this Saturday I dropped the two victims off to the tufuga's house, hung around to serve breakfast and then went back to our host family to help with the preparations for the samaga ceremony. Samaga is the ceremony that formalises the completion of the tufuga's work and where he lifts his taboos and bans and let's the new pe'as out into the wor...
Read more

Fagu'u / Samoan oil

Image
Samoan oil in Fanta and tobasco sauce recycled bottles at Fugalei market. The bottle caps are made of coconut husks wrapped in plastic to keep the husk in place. You've got to love the recycling sense. Samoan oil is used as moisturiser, hair gel, ointment, antiseptic and mosquito repellant oh and used as 'glitter' when dancing. I remember going to school covered in it when we were little. I'm sure I had nightmares for years after whenever I smelled it. But then it was okay because everyone else at school was covered in it too. Oh and we made our own too. My grandma who was blind and paralysed sensed it was going to rain and would yell out to us to come bring the lolo (process or state of making Samoan oil) inside the house because water pollutes the pure oil. So I must attribute my smooth skin to the fagu'u that grandma used to remind us every morning to make sure we had covered our bodies with. Choo hooo fresh off the island ow:)
Read more

Jebel Sifa beauty

Early 2018 post We went to Sifawy Boutique Hotel last week with the family and we found it was quiet there. What a breathtaking set up they have there. Just beautiful with marina out front for the kids to ride their scooters and skate while we adults lounge around the pool and breeze bar. We ran into our friends there so the kids had friends to play with so it was lovely.
Read more